I used to ice skate a lot and want to start back into it and now I find myself needing to get a new pair of iceskates. I am getting very mixed results trying to find a quality pair of vegan figure skates. Some companies say they don't exist while others claim their product is vegan with a leather sole.....hello! I can't seem to get a straight answer. If anyone has any info on this I'd appreciate the feedback. Thanks!

If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men. -St. Francis of Assisi

Heather Mills is in one of these celeberity contests here in the UK. Celebrity skating on ice. She has vegan skates. Costly but vegan.

From the Daily Mail article:

So they were forced to order £200 skates made from a synthetic material called Clarino.The former model lost her left leg below the knee after a road accident in 1993, but no modifications were needed to the skates to accommodate her prosthetic limb. A source said: 'Heather is adamant that she will not wear leather, which is barely a step down from fur as far as she is concerned. 'It was part of her conditions for going on the show, which also include an insistence that all her refreshments are vegan. 'Vegan boots are not unheard of in ice-dancing because leather needs so much looking after, but they are not the standard by any means.'

[i]The boots are made by American firm Riedell, which makes most of its skates from animal leather. [/i]

JoAnn Stepanik talks about this in her book, "Being Vegan". Apparently the synthetic stuff doesn't hold up very well, but you can get custom made ones that support you better. If it's out of your price range and you are really really passionate about skating, buy the leather ones and take very good care so that they don't wear out for a long time.